Air Côte d'Ivoire will start Johannesburg in April 2021, eyeing long-haul in 2022
Air Côte d'Ivoire will open a direct line to Johannesburg in April 2021. The service will be operated with its new A320neo. The carrier is banking on more NEO devices for long-haul deployment by 2022, the expected year of profitability. Air Côte d'Ivoire is maintaining its network and fleet growth plan. The Ivorian national carrier plans to open new lines, including service to South Africa as of next year. This is thanks to the introduction of a new Airbus A320neo.
"Thanks to its characteristics, this new Airbus A320neo will make it possible to densify the network until the opening of the Abidjan-Johannesburg route in April 2021" announces the company. Its first A320neo, scheduled for delivery on October 20, “consumes 20% less fuel […] In addition, its maintenance costs are 5% lower. It is an aircraft which therefore wants to reduce operating costs by 14% compared to an aircraft of the same family and of the previous generation ”.
In 2019, Air Côte d'Ivoire, which employs 604 workers, transported 761,739 passengers, achieving a turnover of 83 billion FCFA (149 million USD) for a net loss of 7.3 billion FCFA (13 million USD). The carrier believes that the economic performance of its new aircraft "combined with the effects of the company's competitiveness plan, should help improve its operational results to achieve profitability in 2022". Better still, the arrival of other neo devices should "prepare for its entry into the long haul."
Note that Air Côte d'Ivoire recorded a loss in revenue of 48 billion FCFA (86 million USD) due to the Covid-19 which resulted in the closure of borders and the suspension of its operations for 3 months. To cope with the effects of the health crisis, the transporter benefited from a state subsidy of 14 billion FCFA (25 million USD). A bailout that made it possible to support the resilience plan and the resumption of operations.
